Pages

Thursday, September 26, 2013

One revelation I've had since I've returned from Madagascar concerns
water. Madagascar was not my first trip to a developing country, so I
was fully aware that indoor plumbing and proper sanitation are not
universal. Previous experiences had already made me very thankful and
appreciative of toilets and having safe drinking water. But traveling to
Madagascar and living at Berenty during the driest part of the year
made me appreciate water in yet another way.

Mandare River during dry season

Water in Berenty
comes from the nearby Mandare River. It's completely untreated when it
comes to us, and it's the same water that people all along the river
swim in, bathe in, wash their clothes in, wash their zebu with (a zebu
is a type of cow), and etc. Where the researchers stay at Berenty, water
is physically brought to us by a tractor three times a day. It's dumped
into a well, and that's our water. That's the (cold) water I showered
in, washed my clothes in, used for cooking, and drank. I brought with me
a UV water purifier called a Steripen
(which I highly recommend) rather than purchase bottles upon bottles of
water to bring to the field. I purified no more than 1 liter of water
at a time for my drinking water to kill any Giadia or anything
else lurking, and then I drank my water. I could see little specks of
dirt at the bottom, and as the river got lower and lower, I could see
substantially more specks of dirt in my water.

Well for researchers' camp

The
fact that I showered and drank and cleaned and cooked with river water
that was untreated didn't bother me. It was what everyone else was
doing, and how much can a little dirt hurt? So the not-pristine water
didn't seem like a big deal. What was really eye-opening was having
limited water. Everyone at the researcher's camp had to share this
water, and it only came at certain times during the day. It wasn't as
though if you ran out of water you just called someone up and they
brought you more. There were definitely times where I went to grab some water for my lunch or my dinner or whatever and nothing came out of the faucet. (Then
it was a matter of eat bananas for breakfast, which I did quite a few
times, or some other sort of food that didn't need to be cooked). I took
very short showers and never really got my long, thick hair clean
because it required too much water. The one time I properly shampooed
and conditioned my hair and had a good shower at Berenty, we ran out of
water that night. No flushing toilets, no water from the faucet to brush your teeth in the morning,
etc. The water for the morning didn't come until ten am, and we left for
the field long before that, so I always had to make sure I had a full
water bottle for drinking and another bottle of water to brush my teeth
with every night. Better safe than sorry.

Ambosary Village near Berenty Reserve

Sundays
were the worst. The tourist part of the reserve has electricity all of
the time. The researcher's section has electricity whenever the nearby
sisal plantation has electricity, which means we lost it every night and
we didn't have it at all on Sundays. This meant no shower, no flushing
toilets, no water out of the faucets at all. It also meant I had to make
sure I had enough batteries charged for my Steripen because if that pen
died, I was out of luck. Sundays were the hardest day at camp for sure.
It's not fun to come back from a day in the field all sweaty and dirty
and not have a shower. I also am pretty sure we didn't get our usual
water three times a day on Sundays. We managed by saving water from
Saturday in buckets and pots and whatever we had available. And then if
we needed more water, it came from whatever was left in the well and it
came to us in buckets. Rationing water for Sundays was a must. I tried
to have leftovers for lunch and then I went to the restaurant for dinner
so that I could use my computer and charge my phone with the
electricity there. It also meant I didn't have a pile of dirty dishes
sitting around until whenever the water showed up on Monday. I
am really thankful of having water whenever I want it. It's such a
simple thing, but making sure I had enough water and wasn't using too
much was a real concern at Berenty. I can take a shower now and use
enough water to get my hair clean without affecting whether or not
people can boil water for their dinner. I can always have a glass of
water here, which is amazing.

Lemur drinking from puddle

And I am fully aware
that, while I may have had it bad compared to western standards or
compared to the tourists at Berenty, I did not have it bad at all. Many
people bring their clothes down to the river to wash. They bring water
back up to their homes. They don't have any sort of water at their house
from a faucet or a shower or whatever. Allocating and preparing water
was stressful for me when I first arrived at Berenty, and I didn't have
to walk down to a river and bring water back to my home. The amount of
time and energy some people must devote simply to access and use water
is incredible. It's easy to see why the government or the people of
Madagascar can't or won't devote more time to conservation when
something as crucial as access to water (not even treated or safe water
mind you) is still a real problem in many areas.As I
was leaving, the water in the Mandare, already very low, was getting
even lower. Saotra, my assistant, said that, in the more populated
places along the river, people are going to have to start digging to get
the water they need. The wet season is November and December, so everyone needs to last another month before there's any hope of the river growing. I can't imagine how difficult it could become those last days before the rain.

Ex-situ conservation means protecting animals outside of their native habitat. This can include moving groups or populations of species to areas outside of their native range where they may have more success. It may mean bringing animals to zoos and trying to breed them in captivity to increase population numbers and/or genetic diversity. One example of ex-situ conservation is work the National Zoological Park is currently attempting to increase the number of cheetahs in captivity. The National Zoological Park are breeding cheetahs housed both at the zoo itself and at The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Virginia and trying to pair genetically valuable individuals. Many zoos have connections with field researchers, institutions, parks, reserves, and other sites across the world. These partnerships allow zoos to not just educate and inspire the local public and visitors but to be involved in projects that directly conserve species and areas through funding, providing training, acting as an area where orphaned wild animals unable to be released back to the wild can live, etc. The next time you visit a zoo, see if they have any programs that you can support or if your admission ticket goes towards any of these programs.

A former pet, this sifaka female now lives at a park

So what can and should you do, as a reader not living in Madagascar or other diverse and threatened areas of the globe? Thankfully there are many things you may be able to do,
and not all of them are terribly expensive or involve huge life changes.
While donating to reputable organizations such as the World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) is definitely an option, so is volunteering at your local zoo
or for organizations such as WWF. You may even be able to find a
volunteer opportunity that is virtual, so no matter where you live you
can make a difference. Check out VolunteerMatch and search for opportunities there.One step that absolutely anyone can take is simple awareness when it comes to purchasing products. Ordering that beautiful hand carved statue from Africa may seem like a great way to support the country, but where is that wood coming from? Was it sustainably harvested? Or are you accidentally contributing to deforestation? These same rules apply when you're traveling. It may seem like a great idea to purchase that unique souvenir, but you should know what materials it is made of and where those materials came from. It's easy to forget the impact our purchases can have when we support an industry that is clearing say the Amazonian rainforest or other endangered and unique habitats. You should be wary of where your wood comes from, your spices, your coffee, your chocolate, etc. It may involve a lot of research upfront, but eventually you will easily recognize the coffee that you learned comes from clear cutting forest in South America or Africa.

Farming even along the hillside

One of the largest contributors to deforestation of a very biodiverse area is the palm oil industry. Palm oil is planted all across Indonesia and Malaysia in areas that were once forested. Palm oil is in cosmetics, processed foods, shampoo, vegetable oil, popcorn, biofuels, and much, much more. 90% of palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, where deforestation is out of control and palm oil plantations are the leading cause. Plantations take the place of the habitat of orangutans, Sumatran rhinos, Sumatran tigers, clouded leopards and other species. Roads cut for logging allow poachers to enter the forest, killing animals for the skins, capturing animals for the pet trade, and killing them for use in traditional medicine. Palm oil is an ingredient in so many items, and it is honestly not the
easiest item to cut from your life, but it is well worth it. To learn more, start by checking out these websites, Rainforest Action Network, WWF, and the Orangutan Project.In Madagascar, deforestation is a huge threat to wildlife. Forests are cleared for rice fields that feed Madagascar's growing population. They are cleared for charcoal production. Forests are also cleared for timber, some of which is highly valuable and is exported to be sold in international markets. In the south, where I worked, the unique and beautiful spiny forest has been replaced by sisal plantations. Sisal is a fiber that is used in baskets, ropes, clothing, etc. Many of these issues are internal, but you can be mindful of where your wood comes from to ensure you're not buying items made from unsustainable, Malagasy timber. If you travel to Madagascar, many of the souvenirs made for tourists are made out of unsustainable items.If you're a student, consider joining groups at your school or university that focus on educating others about conservation and/or raising money for specific causes. If no such groups exist, start one yourself. I started a division of Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots program at my undergraduate university. Roots and Shoots is aimed at young people across the world who want to make a difference. I am happy to hear that the division of Roots and Shoots at my university is still alive and trying to make a difference.

Sponsor a cutie like this one

You can also virtually adopt a gorilla or a lemur or many other animals through organizations such as WWF, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the Duke Lemur Center, and others. Or you can become a member and donate regularly to a cause. You can also purchase or sponsor your own section of the rainforest. If this seems like too much of a monetary commitment, you can show your support by promoting certain nonprofits and causes through your online activities, such as Facebook pages, Twitter, putting a link to an organization you care about in your email signature, and etc. Instead of taking a vacation to Paris or Disney World, take a vacation to Costa Rica and support local national parks and eco friendly tourist hotels. Or better yet, volunteer in some place warm and tropical for a vacation. Earthwatch is a great organization that pairs volunteers with scientists, so that you can travel by yourself or even with your family and work alongside a researcher, learning and aiding a project. Volunteer vacations are becoming increasingly popular.

Visit somewhere off the beaten path and volunteer while you're at it

The main thing we can all do is educate ourselves on conservation issues and share our knowledge with others. The more people aware of the trouble that unsustainable logging causes or of the damage palm oil production does, the more people available to stop using these products and/or to demand viable alternatives. The more people aware that it's possible to take an exciting vacation where volunteering is a part of the trip, the more people who will try it. There's plenty to learn and this post is only the tip of the iceberg. I recommend spending some time on WWF's site, Googling Madagascar and deforestation issues there, and researching anything else from this post that caught your interest. The more you know, the more potential you have to make a difference. Conservation biology is an inherently depressing field, as being aware of the many hurdles wildlife across the globe encounter means realizing the long road ahead. It may seem like there is not much one person can do, but remember that a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Ring-tailed lemurs and
brown lemurs have begun to give birth here in Berenty. I’ve seen two infant
ring-tailed lemurs clinging to their mothers’ bellies. I saw my first brown
lemur infant briefly today (September 5). All I could see was a tiny head
peeking out from a mother’s leg as she walked quadrupedally across the forest
floor. Most primate infants are specially adapted to cling tightly to their
mothers. Human infants have lost this ability, likely because humans don’t have
nearly as much hair to cling to as other primates.

Sifaka infant and mother resting

Sifakas in Berenty
typically give birth towards the end of July. Here, that corresponds with the
start of the dry season. Why give birth during the dry season, when the leaves
are falling and food is harder to come by? Why give birth during the most
difficult time of the year? Well, giving birth and nursing an infant during the
dry season certainly presents its challenges. But on the flip side of this
coin, sifakas wean their infants when fruits are much more available, likely
giving their offspring a better chance of surviving this period (if they made
it through the dry season that is).

Ring tailed mother and infant nursing

Sifaka infants have
reached the stage where they are a little bit stronger and more adventurous.
I’ve seen them practicing their clinging and leaping onto tree branches a
little bit. They’re venturing further and further from their mothers. Sometimes
they even ride on their mother’s back for a bit. They have a bit more fur now,
but quite a few still have those long tails that resemble a rat’s tail, if you
ask me. I’m sure they resemble rats less when all of their fur has grown in.

Brown lemur mother and infant

There are multiple
strategies when it comes to timing reproduction. Gestation of any infant is
energetically costly. Just think about how much more a pregnant woman eats than
a woman who is not pregnant. Lactation is also costly, as infants are growing
at a rapid pace. Some primates produce milk that is rich in nutrients and fat
so that infants are weaned quickly. Other primates have milk with a higher
composition of water, and their infants are generally weaned over a longer
period of time. There are pros and cons to each strategy. As a mother, it is in
her best interest to produce as many infants that survive to adulthood as
possible over the course of her lifetime. So, on the one hand she wants to wean
her infant as soon as possible so that she can prepare for the next mating
season. On the other hand, she wants her infant to survive and the juvenile
period of development is a risky time for a primate. Timing reproduction so
that birth is during a period of optimal fruit availability may make sense for
some primates; timing infant weaning during a period of optimal fruit
availability makes sense for others. Having dilute milk or having fatty milk is
beneficial in different scenarios. Multiple factors come into play. I’m just
happy I get to see more cute infants, although I have to confess, I think
sifakas have the least attractive infants of the lemurs I’ve seen so far.

True or false: Primate
infants consuming milk high in fat are generally weaned over a long period of
time.

Critical thinking: How
does this post connect back to the concept of biological fitness discussed
earlier?

Critical thinking: During
what season do humans give birth? Why do you think this is?

But creating wildlife parks
creates jobs, doesn’t it? And it allows for tourists who bring money, right?
Well, while Berenty certainly does have a large staff of guides, guards for the
park, maids for the rooms, cooks and servers for the restaurant, the sisal
plantation down the road employs far more people, and I’m sure it produces more
cash.

Trash burning by sisal field

Madagascar is currently in
the midst of trying to hold elections for a new president after a coup-d’état.
The election keeps getting pushed back and people protest and mini-buses (the
main mode of transportation for Malagasy people) are occasionally attacked.
While the violence currently appears to be limited to Malagasy and tourists have not been targeted (at the time of this post), tourists have reservations about coming here. It takes time and the
right conditions for a country to become a tourist destination.

Rice fields in the countryside

Saotra, my assistant here,
told me that he saw a boy with a bamboo lemur for a pet. Bamboo lemurs are
critically endangered and were only recently discovered. I was immediately sad
to hear this, but I know that every bamboo lemur counts when there are so few of
them. For this boy, he may see a bunch in his “back yard” and not realize that
the few in his “back yard” are all that is left. He does not know that
scientists have only begun to study these creatures. He does not know that the
species may not survive. And, even if he knows these facts, that bamboo lemurs
are critically endangered, this may not have any real meaning to him. Having a
pet bamboo lemur may just seem cool!

Sisal plantation where spiny forest once stood

Conservation efforts
within a country must be undertaken only with substantial understanding of the
life of the local people. Is the government stable? What are the religious
beliefs of the local people? Is hunting primates taboo or is it allowed? Why?
What are people’s choices in terms of jobs (are there any jobs)? It’s insanity
to walk into a community, educate that community on how rare their primates
are, and expect them to stop hunting primates if their religion/spirituality
tells them hunting primates is a way to appease the gods or if hunting primates
and other wildlife is the only way of keeping their bellies full.

Successful in-situ
conservation efforts understand the local people they work with. Some examples
of efforts that have had great success include Gorilla Doctors, which brings
trained veterinarians to treat mountain gorillas harmed in snares or with other
illness/ailments.

Critical thinking: You’re
a conservation biologist tasked with educating a local community about the
unique wildlife that surrounds their village. What must you take into
consideration before attempting to your assignment?

Critical thinking: What
might the locals be able to teach YOU about the wildlife surrounding their
village?

Conservation Biology is a
booming discipline. I don’t know whether to add “fortunately” or
“unfortunately” to that previous sentence. As the human population expands,
there is less and less room for other creatures and living things on this
planet. There’s only so much space to be had. Yet, many people are interested
in protecting ecologically valuable areas, improving biodiversity, saving
endangered species, etc.

Burning sisal to plant more

Conservation work is
varied but there are two main categories of work: in-situ conservation and
ex-situ conservation. In-situ means within the country. Examples of in-situ
conservation efforts include transferring species to available areas, teaching
locals about resource management, and creating protected parks within the
country. Ex-situ conservation work examples include breeding species in zoos,
informing people of the dangers of buying products made from wood harvested
from the Amazon, etc.

This post is dedicated to
in-situ conservation, or what I’ve learned here in Madagascar. Madagascar is
currently experiencing rapid deforestation (like many places across the world),
leaving primates and other flora and fauna with less and less space. So much of
the life on this island exists only in Madagascar and it is a hotspot of
biodiversity.

Fields for grazing and growing rice outside of Antananarivo

Forests are cleared for
multiple reasons. It is cleared for charcoal, it is cleared to make living
space for Madagascar’s increasing population, it is cleared for sisal
plantations, etc. It may seem easy to judge and ask why a government or a
people wouldn’t want to protect these unique species or ask how could someone
possibly hunt and eat a primate, but let’s remember cultural relativism. Let’s
remember to walk a hundred or a thousand miles in another man’s shoes before
judging. I’ve done a lot of walking here, both in the forest and across all of
the sand roads (no need to pay for a pedicure to exfoliate my feet, that’s for
sure). Half of Madagascar’s population lives on less than one dollar a day. If
you’re starving and have little money, of course you are going to buy
inexpensive charcoal, which contributes to deforestation, over gasoline which
is more expensive but better for the environment. If you can’t feed your
family, then problems like preserving biodiversity hardly seem urgent. As for
judging a country’s government and their priorities, investing roads so that
people can travel to each other usually takes precedence over preserving parks.
Lowering the illiteracy rate, creating jobs, and strengthening the economy are all
likely more pressing to the general public and therefore the government than
conservation.

Which of the following is
NOT an example of in-situ conservation efforts:

A.Foreign researchers
hosting an event within the country where local biologists learn to apply for conservation
grants to fund their work.

B.Undergraduate
students volunteering in local schools, teaching others about endangered
wildlife surrounding their community.

C.A WWF
initiative moving endangered rhinos to protected areas.

D.A fundraising
event for cheetahs to increase money for zoos looking to help this species by
increasing genetic diversity.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Berenty Private Reserve is
primarily a tourist site. The concern is with ensuring tourists have an
enjoyable stay and see lots of lemurs right outside of their cabins. The few
researchers who come to Berenty to work must contend with this fact.

Invasive vine that has been very successful

One of the problems that arise
from Berenty being a tourist facility is the number of invasive species present
here. Invasive species can take root anywhere, not just tourist sites. In
Florida, work is being done to eradicate a species of land snail originally
from Africa that can grow as large as a rat. The snail is thought to have been
introduced by a religious group using the snail for ritual purposes. Asian carp
were introduced on purpose in the Great Lakes to reduce algae levels. It turns
out they eat pretty much anything and are completing taking over the Great
Lakes and drastically reducing biodiversity.

Here at Berenty, certain
plants have been planted for aesthetic pleasure. For example a row of cactus
was planted along the road and the edge of the forest. This seems perfectly
harmless at first glance. However, the inclusion of this plant in the ecosystem
does change things. Lemurs eat the cactus, birds eat it, and before you know it
you have cactus popping up in the forest itself. Cactus is popping up where it
shouldn’t be and where it doesn’t belong. The same is true for other plant
species brought in for aesthetic pleasure: they spread everywhere and find
their way into the forest. These invasive species may be more successful than
native species, driving out the original inhabitants and causing extinction of
native species.

At least two of my three
sifaka groups that I study I’ve seen eat from a species not native to this
habitat. I’m doubtful it will affect my research, because I am looking to see
if there are any differences between the sexes in their feeding habits.
Invasive species certainly affects any researchers who come here to study diet.
In fact, because of the introduced plant species and the provisioning of
primates with human food that occurs at Berenty, this site could not really be
used to study natural primate diet.

With the world growing
smaller, humans travelling globally inadvertently bring seeds and invasive
species with them. Primates and humans increasingly come into contact. Questions concerning primate diet in unnatural, altered ecosystems
may be all that scientists are able to ask.

Berenty is overflowing
with lemurs. They’re everywhere. They’re completely habituated (used to humans).
I can hear the ring-tailed lemurs and the brown lemurs on my roof, foraging on
the tree above. I see brown lemurs multiple times a day drinking water from our
well or from large puddles. I’ve only seen a sifaka drinking from the well once
so far. The ring-tailed lemurs are very daring: they are in the kitchen,
running around outside our houses, even in the dining room on the table.
They’ll steal whatever food is left out and they’ve been known to sneak off
with whole loaves of bread. They raid our garbage as well and anything that’s
left behind in the kitchen. They sit on top of the roof. They sit on the side
of the houses. They feast on the cactus that grows near us. They steal the
cat’s food. Ring-tailed lemurs are basically like rats here. Being everywhere,
they of course poo everywhere, which is not so cute.

Brown lemurs drinking our water

Ring-tailed lemurs are also
up in the tourist section of Berenty. In this part of the reserve, they enjoy
stealing leftovers from the tourists’ meals and occasionally being fed by
employees, even though this is forbidden. It sounds cute and the tourists
happily snap humorous photos of lemurs eating banana peels or jumping on
tables, but the reality is different. Feeding or provisioning animals leads to
multiple problems. For starters, aggression within the troop will increase,
causing physical confrontations and injuries and potentially increased infant
mortality. The increase in aggression causes an increase in stress, making
animals more vulnerable to disease. Animals become dependent on this outside
source of food, causing a serious problem if at any point humans decide to stop
provisioning the animals. Once used to a steady source of food, the troops may
no longer have a large home range and the ability to expand and search for
alternative food sources without entering into another troop’s territory, again
leading to increased physical confrontations.

Ring-tailed lemur sauntering into our kitchen

Provisioning cute, little
lemurs seems like a good idea at a first glance, but there are drawbacks that
should be considered. Provisioning a group of primates is not a decision that
should be entered into lightly. Yet there are troops of primates around the
world where provisioning takes place and has so for years. These unique,
experimental environments allow researchers to ask novel questions that
wouldn’t be possible otherwise. For example, we know that provisioned
populations generally have higher birthrates.

Critical thinking: What
other questions might be asked if studying a provisioned population of primates
or other animals?

Follow by Email

PrimateInfoNet

A must bookmark site for information about primates is PrimateInfoNet, which contains links to new studies, volunteer opportunities, internships, and jobs, factsheets about primate species, advice about careers, and more.

ARKive

Some of the photos and videos I use on this blog are from the wonderful website ARKive, a non-profit initiative of the charity Wildscreen. This site is invaluable for anyone interested in wildlife. It contains information on many species with more being added all of the time and is my number one site for stunning photos and videos.

Encyclopedia of Life

Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a website that's goal is to be a resource about all life on earth. The idea for EOL originated from none other than the amazing E. O. Wilson. It's freely accessible, has lots of content, is growing everyday and I'm one of the (many) curators for the site.